Tag: Europe
Jean-Claude Juncker is wrong and dangerously out of touch to demand an immediate Brexit
The EU referendum has turned UK politics on its head, with one and possibly two party leaders being sacrificed, a new Prime Minister in the pipeline, Scotland’s leader seeking a second independence referendum, and even the question of Irish reunification back on the agenda. The President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker has suggested […]
Opponents of populism will never win the argument by defending an unreformed, adversarial 20th century form of democracy
As liberal democracy degenerates into technocracy on the one hand and demagoguery on the other, Claudia Chwalisz writes participatory and deliberative mechanisms are crucial to the defence of a pluralist, tolerant society. Similar PostsThe real reasons referendums have become so common – and so scaryThe slow death of Hungarian popular sovereigntyNativists are populists and not liberalsBook […]
The real reasons referendums have become so common – and so scary
As 23 June nears there has been increasing frustration around the quality of the debate, and the fact that such a complex constitutional issue is being decided by a binary referendum. Harry Farmer considers why referendums are becoming increasingly popular in Western democracies, and why anxieties around votes on single issues reflect deeper worries about […]
Understanding Ed Miliband’s failed attempt to renew social democracy
Despite many seeing Ed Miliband as being responsible for Labour’s 2015 defeat, much more contributed to the party’s failures, explains Eunice Goes. Drawing on her latestbook, she writes that the European context of crisis and austerity created a situation that Labour – together with other European social democratic parties – failed to steer through successfully. […]
Democracy always sparks discontent, but discontent can also spark change.
At a recent lecture at Christ’s College Cambridge, John Shattuck spoke about democracy and its discontents. Here, it is published in a slightly modified format, and explores the development of ‘illiberal democracy’ and explains why such a concept could never truly work in practice. Similar PostsThe handling of the Eurozone crisis has undermined confidence in […]
Why voters do not (always) punish government parties for corruption
Fighting corruption is a vital aspect of good governance. Yet, it is also a highly persistent phenomenon, indicating that tackling corruption is not always at the top of incumbent’s agenda. One way to solve this problem is to engage in corruption performance voting; that is, to use elections to punish incumbents for high levels of […]
Can we really not predict who will vote for Brexit, and where?
In a recent Guardian article, Simon Jenkins suggested that voter decisions regarding the EU referendum will be made on the basis of gut instinct alone, and that personal characteristics and previous party support provide no guide. Using a new modelling strategy applied to a large body of YouGov opinion poll data, Ron Johnston, Kelvyn Jones and David Manley address Jenkins’ claim, and find it wanting. The […]
Who speaks for Europe? The UK referendum as a pan-European affair
The Brexit debate greatly affects Europe yet commentary from EU figures and European heads of state has been surprisingly muted. Andrew Glencross writes that this is is a significant part due to the fact the British in/out vote is understood as a manifestation of political exceptionalism. The Brexit vote will therefore ultimately be won or lost on British […]
How future UK European referendums might happen
Further referendums on Britain’s European question could happen whatever the result of June’s vote. In a recent report for the Federal Trust Tim Oliver sets out how the forthcoming referendum will not settle the European question and mapped out the different ways in which future referendums might come to pass. Similar PostsCan we really not […]
Book Review: European Integration and the Problem of the State: A Critique of the Bordering of Europe by Stefan Borg
What is the precise nature of the European Union? In European Integration and the Problem of the State: A Critique of the Bordering of Europe, Stefan Borg seeks to tackle this fundamental ontological question. Rather than position the EU as a unique form of political community, Borg argues that its practices of justification, legitimation and identification […]
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